Flynn Robinson
Robinson with the Bucks
Personal information
Born(1941-04-28)April 28, 1941
Murphysboro, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMay 23, 2013(2013-05-23) (aged 72)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolElgin (Elgin, Illinois)
College
NBA draft1965: 2nd round, 15th overall pick
Selected by the Cincinnati Royals
Playing career1965–1978
PositionPoint guard
Number20, 5, 21, 30, 40
Career history
1966–1967Cincinnati Royals
1967–1968Chicago Bulls
1968–1970Milwaukee Bucks
1970–1971Cincinnati Royals
1971–1972Los Angeles Lakers
1972–1973Baltimore Bullets
1973–1974San Diego Conquistadors
1978Indiana Wizards
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA and ABA statistics
Points7,577 (14.0 ppg)
Rebounds1,372 (2.5 rpg)
Assists1,628 (3.0 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Flynn James Robinson (April 28, 1941 – May 23, 2013) was an American professional basketball player.[1]

Early life

Flynn was born April 28, 1941, from the union of Sam Hopkins and Dorothy Mae Robinson. Later Flynn's mother married Johnnie Hodge Sr., Flynn's step-father. A native of Murphysboro, Illinois, Robinson later moved to Kinloch, Missouri (St. Louis area), where he attended Dunbar Elementary School thru the 4th Grade as Flynn Hodge. Afterwards Flynn lived in Elgin, Illinois (Chicago area) and graduated in 1959 from Elgin High School. Flynn averaged 31 points per game during both his Junior and Senior years and in 1959 led Elgin to their Regional and Conference Championships.

College career

Robinson attended Southern Illinois University in September 1959 for one semester and was on the basketball team. Later he transferred to and attended Casper College in Casper, Wyoming, before transferring to the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming. A 6'1" guard at Wyoming, Robinson was a three-time first-team All-Western Athletic Conference honoree. He averaged 26.2 points per game as a sophomore, 25.6 points as a junior and 27 points as a senior and was the 6th leading scorer in the nation. His 2,049 points place him third on Wyoming's all-time scoring list, and in 2005 he was named to the school's All-Century team.

NBA career

Robinson played seven seasons (1966–1973) in the National Basketball Association and one season (1973–1974) in the later merged American Basketball Association. He averaged 14.5 points per game and 3.1 assists per game during his NBA/ABA career.

The 15th pick in the 1965 NBA draft, Robinson made his NBA debut with the Cincinnati Royals in 1966.

Later, Robinson played for the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks' play-by-play radio announcer, Eddie Doucette, called Flynn the "Electric Eye".

In the 1969–70 season with Milwaukee, Robinson averaged a career high 21.8 points per game and was selected to the 1970 NBA All-Star Game, the only All-Star game he would play in. He also led the NBA in free throw percentage that season.[2]

Traded to Los Angeles in 1971 from the Cincinnati Royals, Robinson was a reserve guard behind Jerry West and Gail Goodrich for the Los Angeles Lakers team that won a league-record 33 consecutive games and later won an NBA championship with the team in 1972, playing on what has been considered one of the NBA's Top Ten Teams of all time. When he joined the Lakers, their radio broadcaster, Chick Hearn, called Flynn "Instant Points".

Legacy

In 1992, Robinson returned to Los Angeles where he and his Laker teammates, including legends Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West, were honored at the 20th Year Celebration of the 1972 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers.

In January 2005, Robinson was named to Wyoming's All-Century Team.[3]

In 2012, while living in the Los Angeles area, Robinson again was honored with his surviving teammates at the 40th Year Celebration of the 1972 NBA Champion Lakers, who continue to hold the Historic 33-Games Win Streak, a long-standing pro sports record. The Lakers presented Flynn and each surviving team member with a huge expensive Diamond Cluster Ring.

In his 50s and 60s, Flynn played basketball at the Senior Olympics level.[4]

Death

Robinson died on May 23, 2013, in Los Angeles, of multiple myeloma. He was 72 and was survived by his wife, Nancy Pitts-Robinson, four brothers and two sisters.[2] A notable surviving brother is Air Force Captain Johnnie Hodge Jr., who was one of our country's 1979 "Outstanding Young Men of America".[5]

NBA/ABA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship *  Led the league

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG STL BLK PPG
1966–67 Cincinnati 76 15.0 .457 – .779 1.8 1.4 – – 8.8
1967–68 Cincinnati 2 8.0 .300 – .429 2.0 2.5 – – 4.5
1967–68 Chicago 73 27.8 .441 – .828 3.7 2.9 – – 16.0
1968–69 Chicago 18 30.6 .423 – .833 3.8 3.2 – – 19.1
1968–69 Milwaukee 65 31.8 .436 – .841 3.6 4.9 – – 20.3
1969–70 Milwaukee 81 34.1 .477 – .898* 3.2 5.5 – – 21.8
1970–71 Cincinnati 71 19.3 .458 – .855 2.0 1.9 – – 13.3
1971–72† L.A. Lakers 64 15.7 .490 – .860 1.8 2.2 – – 9.9
1972–73 L.A. Lakers 6 7.8 .500 – .750 1.2 1.3 – – 5.7
1972–73 Baltimore 38 15.3 .458 – .839 1.4 2.0 – – 6.9
1973–74 San Diego(ABA) 49 15.9 .457 .267 .765 1.6 2.3 .5 .0 8.8
Career 543 22.7 .456 .267 .846 2.5 3.0 .5 .0 14.0
All-Star 1 8.0 .750 – – 1.0 2.0 – – 6.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1967 Cincinnati 4 18.0 .511 .500 1.8 2.0 12.5
1968 Chicago 5 36.0 .429 .708 2.0 2.6 20.2
1970 Milwaukee 10 30.0 .326 .880 2.3 5.0 12.8
1972† L.A. Lakers 7 10.3 .463 .700 1.9 .7 6.4
1973 Baltimore 1 2.0 .667 – 1.0 .0 4.0
Career 27 23.2 .406 .795 2.0 2.8 12.1

References

  1. ↑ Pincus, Eric (May 23, 2013), "Lakers mourn the death of Flynn Robinson", The Los Angeles Times
  2. 1 2 Goldstein, Richard (May 25, 2013), "Flynn Robinson, Scorer on Dominant N.B.A. Club, Dies at 72", The New York Times
  3. ↑ "At U W y O Online Community News". Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved July 10, 2006.
  4. ↑ The Electric Eye Helped Put Milwaukee on the Map | Milwaukee Bucks
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